With adidas James Harden has plenty of room to create

Three stripes and The Beard continue to find balance between performance and fashion

PHOTOS: A look at the entire James Harden MVP Collection, and the three new colorways of the Harden LS2.

PHOTOS: A look at the entire James Harden MVP Collection, and the three new colorways of the Harden LS2.

Photo: Courtesy Of Adidas

Photo: Courtesy Of Adidas

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PHOTOS: A look at the entire James Harden MVP Collection, and the three new colorways of the Harden LS2.

PHOTOS: A look at the entire James Harden MVP Collection, and the three new colorways of the Harden LS2.

Photo: Courtesy Of Adidas

With adidas James Harden has plenty of room to create

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Even if you tried, James Harden's style would be difficult to miss.

On the court, he is one of the most creative players in the game -- between his step back and euro step, the reigning 2017-2018 Most Valuable Player has a seemingly endless set of moves to create space. Off the court, Harden's ability to pull off the most wild patterns and color combinations without looking like a fashion try-hard *cough* Russell Westbrook *cough* is enviably.

As one of the league's premier players and one of it's most fashion forward players, it only makes sense that his signature shoe would represent everything James Harden is as a creator on and off the court.

It also helps that Harden's signature shoe is with adidas, a company which has leaned into creativity and even calls itself the brand for creators.

Rashad Williams, the Senior Director of Basketball Footwear at adidas, says it's been a privilege working with Harden because of how creative he is.

"We call ourselves 'the crteators' brand' and so for us, especially with basketball, we want to blend sport and culture together," Williams said. "James epitomizes that. He brings a lot of ideas and inspiration from his fashion sense."

"It really just inspires a lot of creativity in him," Williams said. He jokingly added, that Harden comes with so many ideas they have to try to filter some of them out. "We really try to figure out how to implement them from his inspiration and visual standpoint to the footwear."

Harden has rolled out two signature shoes with adidas so far and after winning MVP, adidas announced two new Harden silhouettes (Harden LS 2 and Harden B/E) to go along with the Harden Vol. 2 in an MVP collection. In addition to MVP colorway, the Harden LS 2 got three other colorways in a separate release a few days later.

That's technically six new James Harden shoes in one week.

"[Harden winning MVP] brings a lot of energy: to the company and to everyone who works on his shoes, him too," Williams said. "It gives us the opportunity to expand his franchise of products. Not just footwear but also apparel. Any time you can work with someone of that caliber it's exciting."

Adidas has had great campaigns for Harden's shoes before, but now they're taking it to the next level.

Just look at the commercial adidas released after Harden won MVP, which featured his mother, Monja Willis, telling a story about a note he left for her when he was a kid.

It's such a great story on it's own, but it is also a marketing dream.

"It's inspirational and its also aspirational," Williams said. "When you look at kids, especially kids that grow up to play basketball...we all think I'm going to go to the NBA. That story is so authentic to [James]. When you hear his mom tell that story and then James chimes in, you can't help but to get goosebumps and to be inspired by it."

The most important part of this ad campaign: it's Harden's story. Just look at the Vol. 2 colorways that have dropped already and it is pretty clear Harden and adidas have put an emphasis on storytelling.

This isn't a new concept. Brands have been using story telling to sell shoes forever. But usually those stories are ones that happened on the biggest stages. The stories Harden wants to tell, are the ones that got him here.

"It's funny, with most athletes, they'll want to talk about their university or their high school," Williams said. "James wants to talk about his middle school: 'where I forged my love for basketball,' or 'where I met some of my friends for life.' He wants to tell people his story and he wants it to resonate with them that he was that kid, 10-11 years old playing in his driveway. He wants to inspire people. Yes, it's hard, but if you have a dream, go after it."

To celebrate Harden winning the MVP, adidas rolled out a special edition MVP Collection which featured the Harden Vol. 2, Harden LS 2 and Harden B/E (Brothers Through Everything) X models. Each shoe in the MVP Collection features a blue and gold color palette inspired by the seal of the City of Compton, where James grew up, with MVP callouts to honor No. 13's 'Imma Be A Star' story.

The B/E X shoe is a way of shouting out his friends and family for supporting and helping him through it all. It is another performance shoe and it sits atop full-length Bounce cushioning and is designed with black, blue and gold details.

The LS2, which Williams says stands for Life Story, is favorite of both Williams and James' mother, Monja. The MVP edition is laced up in blue mesh with gold accents and full-length black Boost.

And of course you have the Vol. 2 which he wore throughout the season, and was designed specifically for his game and his movements.

"Working with someone like James, or anyone in the NBA, and we do it with all our athletes, you got to get the performance aspect right first," Williams said. "We do a lot of testing, get them in the lab and break down their actual games to make sure we understand how they move and give them the tools they need to perform at a high level. We then hopefully bring in the great aesthetic. That's what the brand is about: blending sport and culture."

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Go behind the scenes to learn how adidas created the perfect sneaker for James Harden.

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Again, the LS2 also got three other colorways in addition to the MVP rollout.

The Night Life colorway is exactly what it sounds like. It comes in two two special editions, buckled and laced, suited in black suede and premium leather. The Cargo colorway is designed with a buckle strap and full-length Boost, and features a light beige outsole and olive tones across a raw leather upper.

"We've done two versions of that shoe one with laces and one with a buckle," Williams said. "The buckle version of the LS represents James in his senior year of high school. He called that his battle year, because winning the state championship that year was his goal, to go out with a bang."

Williams also pointed out that the LS2 uses a lot of raw leather and textiles. This is another nod to where Harden was during that "battle year" and how his game was "raw" and less refined than it is today.

"We took inspiration from that and wanted to give it a real military feel," Williams said. "It's comfortable, it's got BOOST technology so you have that all day comfort, but you have that piece of James too and that's really cool."

The third colorway of the LS2 is called Zeus, after Harden's pet bulldog that passed away a few years ago. Drawing inspiration from Zeus' fur, the silhouette features a dark gray upper and premium leather detailing.

As far as when we'll be seeing a Harden Vol. 3, Williams says they are in the very early stages.

"It's usually about an 18 to 24 month process so we need to be aligned with James from the very beginning about what we want to do," Williams said. "So we really need to figure out where he is in his current state on the court and what he's looking for as far as fashion. All I can say is that he is liking what he is seeing and he has been very involved."

Browse through the photos above for a look at all the new sneakers available from James Harden's line of sneakers with adidas.

Demetrio Teniente is a Social Media Producer for Chron.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demo36.